OH TAZAWAKO WHERE ART THOU?

Celebrate the Girls' Month - Take a Train Decorated with Hand-Crafted Hanging Hina Dolls!

2012-02-15T16:06:00.002+09:00

Kakunodate Town will be a perfect town to walk around and see different Hina dolls between February 18 – March 20, 2012. The dolls will be displayed at many shops and available for the tourists to see at different locations. The dolls are often family owned and passed down through generations, reflecting various styles and eras, and made of different materials: clays, papers, and even ceramic wares!

To enhance your experience in this historic snow country, you might want to consider taking a local single-cabin train decorated with hand-crafted hanging hina dolls!

The Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway company is offering you this special ride. The train cabin will be decorated with paintings and drawings by local elementary school students. (Some of them are also available on view at Aniai Station.)

This campaign will continue from February 18th to March 4th, 2012, connecting Kakunodate Station and Takanosu Station. Southbound Rapid Moriyoshi 1-Go (Aniai station 9:32 – Kakunodate 10:40), Southbound Rapid Moriyoshi 3-Go (Takanosu 14:01 – Kakunodate 16:07), and Northbound Rapid Moriyoshi 2-Go (Kakunodate 11:13 – Takanosu 13:09) will be the trains decorated.

Meanwhile, another hina-dolls themed campaign will be held in Kita-Akita City as well: Hina dolls will be displayed at some Takanosu Market Street, drawings by local elementary students at Aniai Station. Also at Aniai Sation, on February 18th, there will be mochi-pounding and games at 13:30pm and lighting snow candles at 17:30pm.

If you want more hina doll festival experience, you would definitely enjoy a guided tour with craft or cooking activity! Click for more details.

"No-Man Stations" of Akita Nairiku Railway were featured on AKB 48's Solo Project!

2012-02-13T17:29:00.001+09:00

On February 1, a member of the most popular J-Pop girls group, AKB48, Misaki Iwasa, has just released her solo debut called, "Mujin Eki" (“No-Man Station”), whose music video was filmed at “no-man stations” on Nairiku Jukan Railway line!

At Okuani Station （奥阿仁駅）

Photo shot at Aikawa Station (合川駅)

The music style is called "Enka", which is a modern adoptation of traditional Japanese music style and whose lyrics often takes ideas on Japanese nationalism. Often, enka is associated to rustic, rural feelings which must have been the perfect match with the nostalgic atmosphere of the areas along Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway.

The promotional video and posters were shot on December 12 – 13, 2011, at Aikawa Station, Okuani Station, and Hitachinai Station, as well as inside the trademark single-cabin train which some general passengers together rode in!

Tazawako Kakunodate Tourism Federation on FACEBOOK!

2012-02-10T15:53:00.001+09:00

Tazawako Kakunoate Tourism Federation (田沢湖・角館観光連盟）serves as an umbrella organization for three individual sectors of tourism associations in Semboku City -- Tazawako, Kakunodate, and Nishiki areas.

The federation has been established over last spring by the Tourism Division of Semboku City government. Its general office is located tentatively at Tazawako Tourism Association – that is us – and the committee has been elected from the executive committees of the three tourism associations. The federation organizes meetings to discuss on the tourism schemes and promotion campaigns, such as the much-talked about 100 Akita Beauties Campaign (“Akita Bijin 100-nin Campaign”).

To make the publicity and information more available for you, the federation has just launched a facebook page!

Now finding the most updated information related to Tazawako, Kakundodate, and Nishiki area is a lot easier! You can check the up-close and comprehensive travel tips of the all three areas, whose attributes are very unique and diverse from one another. Please “like!” to keep yourself updated! This also would be a great place to connect with the locals and tourist like yourself and share your experiences in Semboku City!

Tonight the Balloon Festival in Nishiki - Check the Train Schedule Or Watch Live on Ustream!

2012-02-10T13:52:00.000+09:00

Kamifusen-Age Festival in Nishiki Town, Semboku City will take place today, February 10, 2012. The giant paper balloon hand-crafted by the local villagers will be released up to the sky!

Nairiku Jukan Testudo Railway Company has added extra trains for this special event! The nearest station is Kamihinokinai Station （上桧木内駅）, within a few minutes walk from the event site. The railway line connects JR stations in Kakunodate and Takanosu. For those traveling from Akita City, Morioka City, and Tokyo direction, take off at JR Kakunodate Station and transfer to Nairiku Jukan Railway.

If, unfortunately, you couldn’t make it to the event site, you can take a glimpse of this year’s event at local evening news. You can also check out the following link on Ustream, a live video streaming website, from 15 -21 pm!

Nishiki Kamifusen-Age Festival

On Ustream

Live from 15-21PM, February 10, 2012.

ustre.am/Ho4U

Leonard Foujita Has Come - An Exhibit of the Japanese Contingent of French Art Movement Just Opened in Semboku City

2012-02-08T17:39:00.002+09:00

“Leonard Foujita Has Come,” a special exhibition to commemorate the relocation and new construction of Akita Prefectural Museum, has just opened in Semboku City on Monday, February 6, 2012.

The exhibition displays works by the internationally renowned painter, “Leonard” Tsuguharu Foujita (藤田嗣治), whose works was known for the unique style, in which he created oil paintings using Japanese traditional painting technique.

The trademark “milky skin color” was experimented with various pigments and earned him a recognition as the most famous Japanese contingent of Ecole de Paris, a French art movement in the early 20th century. (Read more about Foujita)

"Self Portrait at Atelier" (1926)

So, why Foujita’s works are important in Akita?

Recently, Masakichi Hirano Museum of Fine Art, in Akita City has held a special exhibition on Foujita’s works. Hirano has purchased a number of Foujita’s works to support him after the death of his wife. Later, when Hirano built a museum in his hometown, Akita, Foujita painted a large mural titled The Events of Akita.

In his memories in Akita Prefecture, Foujita, in his essays written in 1942, depicted Kakunodate town as “my delightful home.”- that is why such special exhibition has been held in Kakunodate town.

This exhibition at Hirafuku Kinen Bijutsukan, in Kakunodate, Semboku City, will display collections loaned from Akita Prefectural Museum and Masakichi Hirano Museum of Fine Arts. 60 artworks by Foujita such as Japanese art, oil paintings, woodblock prints, and sketches have been selected with relevance to the scenery of Kakunodate Town.

Also noteworthy is that the exhibition displays some rare materials relating to the design concept and scheme of the new Akita Prefectural Museum building by an internationally renowned architect, Tadao Ando.

“Leonard Foujita Has Come” will continue through Sunday, February 26th, 2012., and remain open every day from 9 a.m to 4.30p.m (enter before 4:00 p.m.) The place is Hirafuku Kinen Bijutsukan in Kakunodate town, Semboku City, Akita Prefecture.

Admission is 300 yen for general adults (older than high school) and 200Yen for children (elementary and junior high school) and FREE for children under elementary school and all Semboku City residents.

Join a Traditional Hina Doll Tour in Kakunodate Town!

2012-02-07T16:55:00.000+09:00

Hina-matsuri is a Japanese traditional doll festival that is celebrated on March 3rd. Today this thousand-year old festival is commonly celebrated as the families display the dolls on platforms covered with red fabric. The dolls are to represent an imperial wedding ceremony.

The dolls are displayed until the March 3 celebration; after that, they are usually put away in no time, since leaving it out too long is believed as a bad luck for the girl in searching of a groom. The set is commonly passed down in the family over several generations – carrying down the history of girls in the family.

In Kakunodate, a town known as “Little Kyoto of Tohoku,” you can have a tour to see such unique hina dolls that have been passed down over the generations. The dolls vary in size, materials, and numbers: A guide will tour you around and tell you interesting stories for your appreciation.

Your lunch will be served in a special bento box themed in the festival. It is followed by an activity also related to the doll festival. The activity varies on each day of the week:

Mondays and Wednesdays: Oshie (pressed picture) strap – 60 min

Sundays and Fridays: Hina doll photo frame with pressed flowers – 60 min

Tuesdays and Saturdays : Traditional hina-mochi cooking – 90 min

Date:

Saturday, February 18 – Tuesday, March 20, 2012.

Time:

9:50 – 14:30

Meet at Kura (Kakunodate Station Tourist Information Center) at 9:30

Price:

5,100 Yen (Adult) / 3,900 Yen (Child)

Includes :

Lunch (“Hina- Bento”), A Hina Dolls Tour (90 min), and Craft Activity (60 -90 min).

Maximum Capacity:

10 Persons (Minimum 2 Persons)

Reservation :

Tabiyori (Semboku City Tourist Information Center)

Come to Hiburikamakura, Kakunodate's Traditional New Year Festival on February 13

2012-02-06T14:45:00.001+09:00

A traditional snow festival in Kakunodate Town, Hiburikamakura,will be held as the annual schedule, February 13 and 14.

Hiburikamakura (火振りかまくら） is a traditional festival, in which a participant put a fire on s bundle of rice straws and swing it around his or her body, wishing for the safety and health of the family members. As dangerous as it looks, the tradition is practiced by the people of all ages - even many children accompanied by their parents! The view of many rings of flames in the contrast with snow is described as “mystic,” as it gathers many photographers from in and out of Akita Prefecture.

February 13 would be the best day to visit – the event site near the Hinokinai river offers you warm foods and various activities to watch. The local people bring in their used new year’s ornaments and charms such as shimekazari and daruma, so they will be burned in an appropriate religious manner. There will be fireworks to start and end the event.

To remember your participation in the ritual event, why don’t you get a set of charms purified by the local Shinmeisha Shrine? Only 100 sets are available for 500 Yen. Find one at Kakunodate Tourist Association booth.

For more information about Hiburikamakura event, call Kakunodate Tourist Association (TEL 0187-54-2700) or Semboku City Tourism Division (0187-43-3352).

Nishiki Town's Giant Balloon Festival on February 10 !

2012-02-02T14:07:00.000+09:00

A traditional festival of Nishiki Town, Giant Balloon Festival will take place on February 10, 2012. Giant balloons made of Japanese paper are ignited inside and released up to the sky. The festival has a history of more than a century.

Mushae (picture of samurai) and Bijinga (picture of beautiful women) are painted by the local artists and community members. The view of more than 100 balloons shining in the starry sky is truly magnificent! (Read about last year's event.)

Place:

Nishikicho Kamifusen Hiroba (Nishiki Town Paper Town Plaza)

7 minutes walk from Akita Nairiku-sen railway “Kamihinokinai” Station

Schedule: